Latino Daily News

Creating Digital Leaders in Hispanic Media

A new course by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) will equip a corps of U.S. Spanish-speaking journalists with the skills needed to be multimedia trainers in their newsrooms. The first phase is a four-week online course in Spanish training 57 journalists to use emerging technologies, social media, visual storytelling and other multimedia tools to better connect with their audiences.

Participating journalists work at prominent news organizations across the country, including NPR, CNN, CBS News, Univision, Telemundo, the Sun-Sentinel in Florida and Hoy in Chicago.

As part of the online course, each participant will develop a proposal for a multimedia project that aims to strengthen and inform his or her community. Through online forums and live chats, participants will interact with the instructors and each other on their project ideas.

After evaluating proposals, ICFJ will select 26 participants for a three-day, in-person boot camp on backpack journalism in either Los Angeles or Chicago. Out of that pool, eight finalists will receive training to become Spanish-language digital media trainers. Experienced, Spanish-fluent digital experts will work with the eight participants to conduct training sessions in their newsrooms and at national journalism conferences.

The training program, called “Líderes Digitales: Creating a New Generation of Spanish-Language Multimedia Trainers,” is a two-year project sponsored by the McCormick Foundation.

The International Center for Journalists, a non-profit, professional organization, promotes quality journalism worldwide in the belief that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition.